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Wednesday, 24 March 2004

Content Note: This is an old post which reflects a certain amount of extremism which I experienced at the time. In this case, I used abusive language against Zionists, which could be taken as anti-Semitic. I have never considered myself to be anti-Semitic. However, the language that I used when writing this more than a decade ago could be troubling for some.
These days I find myself in a quandry.

I am among those who support the `ulama (almost) regardless of sectarian boundaries, and so I am in mourning for Shaykh Ahmad Yassin. I heard of the illegal murder of Sh Yassin on Sunday night. Immediately my knees failed me, and I collapsed on the floor. So soon again have we lost another great `alim of the Muslim Ummah - the occupation dogs picked off Ayatullah Muhammad Baqir al Hakim in Iraq just a few months ago; and now the zionist dogs have slaughtered a wheelchair-bound elderly Palestinian `alim. I have not even begun to taste my grief, but my tears are already flowing. Allah curse those dogs and cast them into the Hellfire; and may we live to see their physical downfall! Curse those dogs, those lower than dogs! Curse them!

Amidst the inspirational messages that I have been able to see on the television is a Congratulations on the Martyrdom of Sh Yassin. My mind can't comprehend this, and I end up crying every time that I see it. I still feel as if this is just a nightmare and that I will wake up soon, and Sh Yassin will be on TV the next morning giving another speech. How can I possibly give congratulations when I am in this state of mind?

What remains with us is the fact that a terrorist government has murdered one of the `ulama of Islam, a weak elder who himself posed such little threat that the zionist dogs released him from their own prison system - a man who had been convicted of absolutely nothing by any justice or unjust system. They have slaughtered in cold blood one of the top Filastini mujahidin who has been struggling for decades to recover the Palestinian land for the Palestinian people. These terrorist najis dogs have similarly assassinated not only multi-faceted mujahidin such as Sh Yassin, but also complete pacifists - whether Palestinian, American, or Israeli; and these zionist murderers and criminals are plotting their next attack, sighting their next victim.

I can say that if it were not for the advises and inspirations of our `ulama such as Sh Nasrullah, Ayatullah as-Sistani, and Imam Khumayni, I would certainly feel even more lost. May Allah bless and protect our `ulama, and may He hasten the appearance of Imam Mahdi.

* U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the murder of Shaykh Yassin will further harm efforts to settle the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict: "Such actions are not only contrary to international law, but they do not do anything to help the search for a peaceful solution."

*Javier Solana, foreign policy chief of the European Union, said that the move would hurt peace efforts.

* EU Foreign ministers: "Israel is not ... entitled to carry out extra-judicial killings. Not only are extra-judicial killings contrary to international law, they undermine the concept of the rule of law which is a key element in the fight against terrorism." Yassin's assassination "has inflamed the situation ... Violence is no substitute for the political negotiations which are necessary for a just and lasting settlement."

* José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, PM-elect of Spain, said that Israel's killing of Yassin proved wrong U.S. assertions that the invasion of Iraq and ouster of Saddam Hussein would bolster the cause for Middle East peace.

* A spokesman for Tony Blair said, "It goes without saying that the prime minister also condemns today's killing. We have repeatedly made clear our opposition to Israel's use of targeted killings and assassinations."

* French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, said it would "only fuel the cycle of violence".

* Poland's foreign minister, Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, said: "I understand that Israel defends its own country. However the picture of a wheelchair-bound person who was killed with a rocket is probably not the best way of promoting Israeli security."

* Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said that reviving the peace process will not be any "easier when you have killings like that going on in Gaza. Terror and violence is not the way ahead."

* Jean Paul II a déclaré "s'associer à la communauté internationale pour déplorer cet acte de violence qui ne peut se justifier dans aucun Etat de droit". (John Paul II has declared "associating himself with the international community in order to deplore this act of violence which can not be justified in any State of right.")

* Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen: "This act will contribute to increased tensions in the area and will make it more difficult to implement the road map for peace and a possible Israeli withdrawal from Gaza."

* Asked what impact the assassination would have on the peace process, President Hosni Mubarak replied: "What peace process?"

And do not speak of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead; nay, (they are) alive, but you do not perceive. And We will most certainly try you with somewhat of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits; and give good news to the patient, Who, when a misfortune befalls them, say: Surely we are Allah's and to Him we shall surely return. Surah Baqarah of the Qur'an, 2:154-156

And what is wrong with you that you do not kill in the way of Allah and of the weak from among the men and the women and the children; those who say, 'O our Lord! Let us out of this town of oppressive people! Make for us from Your presence a guardian! Make for us us from Your presence a helper! Surah an-Nisa' 4:75

[NB: While the "kill" aspect of this ayah is not applicable in today's circumstances (no tanglible messianic leader), I use this ayah to reason that the Muslim ummah should be striving to help struggling people.]